They are made from vellum, which hundreds of years ago was derived from specially treated calf's skin. There seem to be gaps in book, though, and experts think the number of pages once totaled more than 270. It measures about 9 inches (23 centimeters) tall by 6 inches (16 centimeters) wide, and it contains 246 pages. Its ancient parchment has sparked gigantic controversy, but the book itself is actually pretty small. You can visit the library's website to view high-resolution images of the document in its entirety. The pages passed through a few more hands before finding a permanent home in the Yale University library in 1969. None succeeded, but his efforts brought him a fame of sorts, forever linking his name to the manuscript. He spent years attempting to determine the book's origins and sought out experts he thought might able to decipher its contents. Then in 1912, a book dealer named Wilfrid Voynich bought the manuscript in Italy. Thanks to Marci, the book likely ended up in Kircher's personal library, but for the next two centuries it disappeared from history. Mnishovsky claimed that Rudolf II purchased the book and that the author was most likely Renaissance man and Franciscan friar Roger Bacon. Marci was acquainted with Raphael Mnishovsky, who served Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, who himself loved to collect obscure and weird things. In a letter, he offered a tantalizing (but impossible to prove) fragment about the book's history. After Baresch's death, the manuscript went to a friend by the name of Jan Marek Marci. Kircher had a reputation for unraveling hieroglyphics and mysteries, but for reasons that are unclear, Baresch never sent the tome to him.
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